Mark Gillispie

Associated Press

President Joe Biden speaks about the government's COVID-19 response, in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Campus in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022.

Biden to Double Free COVID Tests, Add N95s to Fight Omicron

The federal government has a stockpile of more than 750 million N95 masks.

FirstEnergy Agrees to $306M Refund to Ohio Customers

For having collected significantly excessive profits.

Acting U.S. Attorney Vipal J. Patel, center, accompanied by FBI Special Agent in Charge Chris Hoffman, speaks during a news conference in Cincinnati, Thursday, July 22, 2021. Federal authorities say Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. would pay a $230 million penalty and fully cooperate as part of an agreement announced Thursday to settle federal charges against the company in a sweeping bribery scheme in Ohio.

Agreement Shows Ohio Utility Paid Regulator for Future Help

FirstEnergy said it paid Sam Randazzo $22 million over the years.

The Appalachian region of Ohio has long suffered from vanishing manufacturing jobs.

S. Korean Firm Ditches Ohio Petrochem Project

The project is seen as a potential economic savior for an Appalachian region that has long struggled economically.

The site selection in Ohio (outlined in red).

'Cracker' Plant Moves Forward

The companies would receive a 15-year property tax exemption for the plant.

In this Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019, file photo, narcotics detective Ben Hill, with the Barberton Police Department, shows two bags of medications that are are stored in their headquarters and slated for destruction in Barberton, Ohio. Jury selection is set to begin Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019, in the first federal trial over the nation's opioid epidemic.

Opioid Industry Presses for Settlement

The talks involve the distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson, as well as drug makers Johnson & Johnson and Teva.

In a Nov. 6, 2018 file photo, Dave Yost speaks at the Ohio Republican Party event, in Columbus, Ohio. A federal appeals court has denied an effort by state attorneys general to stop a bellwether opioids trial involving two Ohio counties from getting underway later this month in Cleveland. The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019 that Ohio didn’t object when lawsuits filed by Summit and Cuyahoga counties were initially included in what has become a sprawling case involving around 2,600 local governments and other entities. Yost argued in August against the certification of the local government lawsuits as multi-district litigation.

Court Denies Attempts to Stop Opioid Trial

The trial for Ohio's Summit and Cuyahoga counties is a closely watched bellwether that could lead to settlements of the suits.

This Jan. 11, 2018 file photo shows Judge Dan Polster in his office, in Cleveland. Attorneys representing eight drug distributors, pharmacies and retailers facing trial for their roles in the national opioid crisis are seeking to disqualify the federal judge overseeing their cases saying he’s shown clear bias in his efforts to obtain a multi-billion dollar global settlement. The motion was filed late Friday, Sept. 13, 2019, in U.S. District Court in Cleveland, where Judge Dan Polster presides over most of the 2,000 lawsuits filed by state, local and tribal governments. Polster has not responded.

Attorneys Seek to Disqualify Opioid Judge

They say he has shown bias in his effort to obtain a multibillion-dollar global settlement.

Opioid Shipments Ballooned as Crisis Grew

Companies distributed 8.4 billion hydrocodone and oxycodone pills to pharmacies in 2006, and 12.6 billion in 2012 - an increase of over 50 percent.

In this April 18, 2019 file photo a tanker truck passes a petrochemical plant being built on the banks of the Ohio River in Monaca, Pa., for the Royal Dutch Shell company. The plant, which is capable of producing 1.6 million tons of raw plastic annually, is expected to begin operations by 2021.

Ethane Revitalizes Appalachia?

A natural gas drilling byproduct could help a region still struggling from the loss of industrial and manufacturing jobs decades ago.

Chuck Rodriguez, a 19-year employee, protests outside the plant, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Lordstown, Ohio. General Motors' sprawling Lordstown assembly plant near Youngstown is ending production of the Chevrolet Cruze sedan, ending for now more than 50 years of auto manufacturing at the site.

GM Assembly Plant Closing

There was a somber mood inside the plant, where more than 50 years of car manufacturing came to an end.

In this Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, file photo, cars move along an assembly line at the General Motors Fairfax plant in Kansas City, Kan. Analysts say that with too many factories making slow-selling cars, General Motors can’t afford to keep them all operating without making some tough decisions.

New Risks Lurk When Auto Plants Close

To deal with overcapacity, GM will either have to eat added costs, close one or more plants, or retool them.